Thirty-seven victims of modern slavery were identified in Stoke-on-Trent last year – but now a small team of volunteers are fighting back against the gangs who exploit vulnerable children and adults.
The charity Voice of Hope was launched in 2015, to raise awareness, offer training, and to help rescued victims readjust to life away from the gangs who had enslaved them.
But the vision goes back to 2011 when founder Ann Grainger listened to a news bulletin which included an item commemorating the abolition of slavery and a separate report describing how 24 men had been found, suspected of being held against their will.
That convinced Ann, a student at Staffordshire University at the time, to research modern slavery for her dissertation – and sparked her passion to do what she could to eradicate the crime for good.
Now the Birches Head-based charity, which is staffed by a small team of nine volunteers, has been nominated for a Sentinel Our Heroes award, as community group of the year.
Ann – who started the charity with her friends Ann Broome and Lynn McDermott – said: “I was horrified to discover that in our sophisticated world, slavery not only exists but is still thriving.
“Men, women and children are trafficked into the many forms of modern slavery.
“Ruthless individuals, who can be mothers, fathers, friends, gangs are using sophisticated techniques to deceive and groom individuals. And using chilling levels of violence to keep their victims compliant.
“When we talk about slavery, we are not talking about people in lousy jobs or marriages, but individuals who can’t escape.
“When we started the charity there were three of us, and we didn’t want history to look back and ask, ‘why didn’t you say anything’?”
Voice of Hope works alongside Staffordshire Police and other organisations to fight slavery – and last year delivered training to over 1,300 people on how to spot the signs that others may be being held against their will.
It is estimated that there are 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK, and around 43 million worldwide. The Children’s Commissioner estimates another 46,000 children are being exploited by criminal gangs to traffic goods in what is known as, ‘county lines’.
Ann said: “There were 500 reported concerns about modern slavery in Stoke-on-Trent last year and 37 confirmed victims.
“One issue now is ‘county lines’, which is gangs using children aged from age 11 to 17 to traffic drugs from one county to another. Then if the children get caught, the gangs can’t be prosecuted.
“We want to make young people aware that this is going to destroy their lives and their families.”
Voice of Hope also works with the Salvation Army to support victims who have been rescued and taken to safe houses by providing essentials such as food and clothing.
But Ann’s vision is to open a modern slavery centre in the Potteries, which she estimates would cost about £330,000.
“That is the dream,” said Ann. “Once someone has been rescued, their first taste of freedom would be in an environment where they can start building trust in people again. We could create this lovely environment where people would feel safe.
“We would also look to do drop in sessions where parents who are concerned about their children could get advice.”
The charity has been nominated for an Our Heroes award by Ian Grainger. He said: “Voice of Hope raises awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking in our city. They have been quietly raising awareness for five years and hundreds of individuals from across the sectors now know more about this atrocity.”
Readers who want to make a nomination for the Our Heroes Awards should email richard.ault@thesentinel.co.uk with Our Heroes in the subject box.
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